Vehicle data expert Cartell.ie have highlighted the hidden dangers of buying a car without carrying out the necessary checks to ensure it has no outstanding finance. 

Cartell.ie says that the proportion of vehicles offered for sale (across all years) with finance outstanding is now 17.5%, up from 16.6% in December 2018 and 11.5% in January 2017. Cartell.ie also reports that more vehicles for certain key registration years are being offered for sale with finance outstanding than in 2018. From a sample of over 5,906 vehicles offered for sale and checked via the Cartell.ie website in the first 6 months of 2019, the figures show that 41% of three-year-old vehicles are offered for sale with finance outstanding.

John Byrne, of Cartell.ie, says: “42 per cent of all three-year-old vehicles (2016) checked in the first 6 months of 2019 on Cartell.ie have finance outstanding. This is up from 39% of three-year-old vehicles (2015) checked last year on the site over the equivalent period. The rise is possibly attributable in some cases to expiring PCPs where owners are testing the market to see if they can return a higher price than the Guaranteed Minimum Future Value (GMFV) guaranteed by the dealer.”

John adds, “What’s really concerning is that finance levels are up all across the years and the headline figure of 17.5% overall is particularly concerning. Buyers are strongly advised to be cautious in the market as you cannot take good title in the asset until the final payment has been paid to the financial institution. This means you may be buying a huge problem.”